The relationship between sprint performance and both lower and upper extremity explosive strength in young soccer players

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Sprint performance plays a major role in success of field-based team sports such as soccer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sprinting performance and both lower and upper extremity explosive strength in young soccer players.
 Material and Methods. One hundred forty-seven soccer players (mean±SD; age 11.6±1.66 years, height 143.2±11.8 cm, body mass 37.1±10.2 kg and training experience 1.11±1.5 years) voluntarily participated in this study. The sprinting performance of each player was determined using their 5, 10, 20 and 30m single sprint times. The lower and upper extremity explosive strength were evaluated by standing long jump and medicine ball throwing tests respectively. Prior to the study, each of the players was given detailed information about the risks and injuries they could encounter during the study, and parental consent was obtained by their signatures on informed voluntary consent forms since the subjects were under the age of 18. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from Ankara University Medical Faculty’s Surgical and Medical Research Ethics Committee.
 Results. The results indicated a strong relationship between sprinting performance and horizontal jump performance (r=-.671 ̶ -.764; p=0.001) and also a large relationship between sprinting performance and upper extremity strength (r=-.633 ̶ -.703; p=0.001). The sprint performance (n=147) also significantly correlated with body weight (r=-.345 ̶ -.373; p=0.001) and height (r=-.445 ̶ -.505; p=0.001).
 Conclusions. The study results suggest that upper extremity strength is as important as the lower extremity strength for sprinting performance and that trainers should emphasize lower and upper extremity strength in training intended to improve sprinting performance.